NEWSFLASH: When it comes to knowledge of their nation’s history, American students are as dumb as rocks. The most recent confirmation of this perennial truth came last Thursday, when the Department of Education released the latest results from the U.S. History portion of the National Assessment of Education Progress. “Awful” and “abysmal” were just a few of the adjectives that education policy wonks tossed around when they heard the details. You can read the Washington Post’s account here; the full test, with results, is available here. If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can delve into all the depressing stats, helpfully categorized in almost every imaginable way (race, sex, socioeconomic status of the school, geographic region, private vs. public schools, etc.).
The woeful ignorance of American students regarding their nation’s history and politics is now so widely acknowledged that it’s even become a target for humor. You’ve probably seen the popular recurring feature on “The Tonight Show” where Jay Leno roams the streets and gets laughs by asking doltish citizens about history and current events. (My favorite such moment was when Leno showed some college kids a picture of Jimmy Carter–whom, of course, none could identify–and then, in an inspired bit of comic juxtaposition, showed them a picture of the Planter’s Peanut Man, whom they all immediately recognized.)
